In Sickness and in Health
by kwylfling
Summary: Near gets sick and Mello is in a position to nurse him back to health. Neither one is prepared for the feelings that emerge during this time. Starts out slow and mellow pun intended but rated M for chapters to come.
1. in pursuit of water

Disclaimer: I do not own, rent or in any way, shape or form hold the ownership to Death Note or it's characters. I do hold the intellectual rights to the story that follows.

A/N: This story is set, as will become obvious presently, in Wammy's House. Which means that the boys involved are a touch younger than I really like. However, we all do what we must and therefore the boys will just have to deal for all our sakes. Suffice it to say that this is set as close to the events in the first half as possible but before the boys were dragged into anything.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Near licked dry chapped lips with a tongue that felt much too large for his mouth. His tongue was swollen and desiccated. His skin felt dry and paper thin. His limbs were unwieldy and heavy. His brain felt like it was being baked in an oven. The boy panted as he attempted to get his tongue comfortably back in his mouth.

"I need water," he tried to whisper but all that came out was a rough croak.

~***~**~*~**~***~

_Near glanced at his surroundings before he began walking up a quiet little mountain path. The air was crisp and cool as giant coniferous trees shaded the track he followed. He had no idea where he was or where he was going but he couldn't help reveling in the feeling of the springy forest floor below his bare feet. Suddenly he topped a rise and stood within a natural clearing. A large rock stood on the opposite side and crystal clear water coursed down its weathered face into a pool below. Even with the water dancing and sparkling as it fell the pool remained as smooth as glass. Near walked closer and could see even the tiniest grains of sand at the bottom of the pool. With a grin he shucked his clothes and slipped in without a ripple. The pool welcomed him into its chilly embrace. _

_~***~**~*~**~***~_

Near blinked open his eyes groggily and sighed in despair. He was still laying on his bed completely tangled in his comforter. The hallucination had done nothing for him except make his body ache more fiercely. If he wanted water he would have to go in search of it. Struggling through the multitude of pillows he had mounded all over his bed the boy managed to wriggle to the side and drop a foot to the floor.

Try how he might, though, Near could not convince his body to sit up so that he could attempt to stand. He laid there gasping with one foot dangling over the edge of the bed shivering at the draft that was leaking in under the covers. When he had rested for what seemed like hours he finally managed to convince his body to roll over and he slid heavily out from under the comforter and onto his knees on the floor.

~***~**~*~**~***~

_The world was ablaze in a field of purest white. Near had to put his hands over his poor bedazzled eyes before he could see well enough to look around and try to regain his bearings. There was nothing there. Nothing but the whitest most powdery snow he had seen in his life. From horizon to horizon it stretched with no end. He scuffed at the snow with his toe and a glittery cloud puffed up over his bare feet. If it wasn't packed down why were there no footprints to explain how he had gotten here? Staring around at the unbroken white expanse Near noticed a faint shadow ahead of him. As he walked forward the shadow resolved itself into a crack and the crack into a river. Waterways meant civilization __and civilization meant figuring out why he was out here and how he'd gotten to this place. As he turned __to follow the water downstream his footing crumbled beneath him and Near plunged down into the water. His body began shivering uncontrollably expecting a chill so great it would steal the very breath from his body. Instead the water seemed to be welcoming him into its embrace with a warm fluffy feeling._

_~***~**~*~**~***~_

Near regained consciousness laying on the floor with his comforter dragged half off the bed and mostly over him. He had fallen over as violent shivers ripped through his body at being exposed to the chill air in his bedroom and his desperately scrabbling hands had managed to grab the comforter before he tipped over. Water; his body was still in desperate need of water. With a groan Near managed to push himself to his hands and knees. With one hand holding the comforter around his neck he crawled to the door. Leaning against the wall he managed to get high enough to open the door and look out.

No one in sight. Maybe everyone was in class? His poor brain was having enough trouble trying to keep him moving to figure out what time or even day it was. Near fell back down on his hands and knees and shuffled awkwardly out into the rest of the house with his comforter trailing behind. The hallway was wavering slightly before his eyes. He tried to keep moving straight but knew that at best he was zigzagging down the corridor. If he hadn't managed to turn himself completely around by accident and started heading back the way he came. 

_~***~**~*~**~***~_

_The rough stone under Near's bare feet gave another massive shudder as he stared off into the distance. He was standing on an immense promontory on the high end of what seemed to be a tiny little island. On the other side there was a beautiful white sand beach that ran gracefully to meet the serene tropical blue-green water. It was a sight designed to take your breath away and Near would have loved to go racing down there and frolic like a little kid again. Except he could find no way to get down off of this cliff short of jumping into the frothy seething waves below. Another immense wave crashed against his platform with a roar. This time Near could feel the salt water stinging his lips. The shaking wasn't stopping. Near whirled around to see the entire island quaking like a leaf in a hurricane. His cliff began rocking as it separated itself away from the rest of the island. Another wave reached up and this time it swallowed Near up and swept him out to sea where he spun this way and that beset on all sides by currents and eddies of water. Finally after what seemed an eternity he slipped below the violent frothing waves to be embraced by the calm welcoming deep._

_~***~**~*~**~***~_

Near lay in the middle of the hallway head still spinning dizzily and put the back of his hand to his throbbing lip. Something warm and wet met his touch and he knew without even looking that his dry lips had cracked and started bleeding. He tried to lick the blood away but his body couldn't be bothered. It was too much trouble to move. It was too much trouble to keep his eyes open. It was certainly too much trouble to continue trying to find water. So, with a dejected sigh, Near sprawled out on the floor under his comforter and dropped into a long dark abyss that held neither conscious thought nor more hallucinations of water; merely nothingness. 


	2. in pursuit of an argument

Disclaimer: I do not own, rent or in any way, shape or form hold the ownership to Death Note or it's characters. I do hold the intellectual rights to the story that follows.

A/N: I am slowly but surely working to make these early chapters better. For those of you who read them the first time around without all the corrections I apologize. To those reading them for the first time please enjoy and if you find any glaringly offensive errors I have yet to notice I will be more than happy to fix them once they are brought o my notice.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Near woke slightly to the muffled sounds of two people arguing in another room. He was definitely conscious but if those two, whoever they were, thought he was going to wake up just to tell them to shut up they were very very wrong. He snuggled deeper into his bed and froze. This was not his bed. He flung his arms out in desperate circles looking for his pillows. He couldn't sleep without his mounds of pillows to prop him up or snuggle against or crawl under. And how had he managed to get out of the hallway anyway? He still needed water. His throat was burning. He couldn't think. The boy thrashed around wildly until his hand connected painfully with something solid. A creak was followed by an almighty crash and he cried out as the noise echoed painfully in his skull. A whimper welled up out of his constricted throat but he cut it off as footsteps marched across the room and stopped next to the bed he was in.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Mello tapped his foot angrily as he glared at Roger. Roger had always been an interfering busybody but since he was more or less in charge of Wammy's House Mello had usually tried to, if not get on his good side, at least stay off of his bad one. Mello's one and only rule in life was never fuck with the one who supplied the chocolate. Roger, however, was coming awfully close to getting himself a tongue lashing or worse. No one argues with Mello and gets away unscathed. The blond narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, Roger was only seconds away from experiencing first hand one of Mello's legendary explosions.

"I just don't know if this is a good idea, Mello. I mean, with your track record of trying to humiliate the boy why would I leave his care to you if he's as sick as you say?" Roger regarded the boy curiously as he spoke. If Mello really did want to help care for the sick boy it would help Roger to no end but he couldn't keep himself from questioning Mello's motives. The blond was notorious for his seething temper and uncontrollable desire to take over Near's first place rank.

"Look, I just explained all this." Mello threw his hands up in frustration and began pacing. "It was his own fault he managed to pass out in front of my damn room. I nearly stepped on him coming out. And he's heavier than he looks, let me tell you. There was no way I could carry him back to his room and I wasn't about to leave him lying in the hallway in front of my door for everyone to see. So I put him in my bed before I went to find you."

Roger nodded. So far Mello's story seemed innocent and ordinary.

"As you can see," Mello continued pointing his thumb through the open door of his room at a thrashing Near, "now that he's semi-conscious I don't think it's a good idea to move him. Since the doctor's out of town and you're busy running this place and he's in my room already it won't be that big a deal for me to look after him while I'm doing my stuff. You know I can handle it after I helped out when that stomach bug went around a while back."

Roger had to agree that Mello had proved himself quite capable of taking care of sick patients at that time. Everyone had been pleasantly surprised that the notorious blond had had the patience to even be in the same room as sick people much less be capable of tending to them. But Roger knew it wasn't Mello's competence in dealing with the sick Near he was worried about.

"Yes, Mello," Roger replied, "that's all well and good. I have plenty of faith in your skills and it would be a considerable help to me to leave Near with you. Except I can't help but recall all the times I've had to call you into the office for something you did to him or his things. How do I know this isn't just some scheme to get him alone and torture him some more?"

"Roger, you know me." Mello said with a sigh. "Yes, I pull shit all the time but it's never malicious and I would never hit someone when they're down. Sure, it pisses me off that no matter how hard I try I can't surpass him but maybe if he would drag his head down out of the clouds once in a while to acknowledge the fact that I exist I wouldn't have to do anything. Maybe this is a new road for me. Maybe instead of childish pranks I'm trying to get him in my debt. Then he'd have to acknowledge me."

Roger silently agreed with Mello. He really did love all the children under his care, and Mello did have a nasty temper, but sometimes he thought Near brought most of his troubles on himself with that indifferent attitude of his. Roger would never claim favorites but he and Mello had an understanding that he felt was special to both of them. Even if Mello liked to pretend it was only about the chocolate. He glanced at Mello's face and felt himself give in as he looked into the boy's eyes.

"All right, Mello," he said with a brisk nod. "I give you full access to the kitchen and medicine box. If you need anything or Near gets worse come to me at once. And please don't let this affect your grades."

"Yeah, right," Mello replied with a snort. "Like I'd let my grades slip while he's sick and can't keep up with the work. I might pull first place out of this!'

Roger eyed the grinning boy carefully and then shook his head. Mello had a way of switching between the personality of a vengeful seven-year old and a self-assured 40-year old. Sometimes just looking at the boy made Roger feel a touch bipolar. A crash came from the bedroom but he let himself be rushed away as Mello assured him that everything would be fine and he could take care of it. He sighed. It certainly wouldn't be a dull next few days.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Mello finally shut the door on Roger's retreating back and glanced over at Near. The boy had been flailing about, seemingly fighting his blankets, and managed to knock over the bedside table. Mello walked over to pick up the lamp and place it and the table a little farther from the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on Near's flushed sweaty forehead.

He was glad Roger had finally given in and left because, truth be told, Mello had been running out of things to say. He hadn't the slightest idea why he was doing this. When he had walked out of his room to find Near lying on the floor panting heavily with blood smeared on his pale face something in Mello's chest had squeezed tight and then nosedived into his stomach. And while Near had been a good deal heavier than Mello would have thought from such a slight figure he had still managed to pick the slender boy up with ease. He had no idea why he'd put Near in his bedroom. Really he hadn't even realized he was doing it until he was half way back to his door to find Roger. With a sigh Mello went to stand up so he could go to the kitchen and make some tea. Best thing for a fever was lots and lots of liquids.

He sat back down in surprise as slender arms wrapped around his waist and overbalanced him. A sigh escaped Near's lips as he buried his head in the blond's side. Mello stared down at the figure for a couple minutes before he settled back against the head of the bed. He could wait to go down until Near had fallen back asleep. No need to risk him thrashing around until he fell out of bed, after all.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Near stopped whimpering when he felt a cool hand on his forehead. He had never had someone soothe him when he was sick before. Take care of him, yes, no one had to deal with being sick all by themselves at Wammy's House. But Near knew that the way he acted put people off, even people who genuinely liked him and who he liked back, such as Roger, allowed the emotionless way he acted to put distance between them. He knew no other way to act, though. When he was younger he would watch the other kids play with each other and once in a while tried to emulate it. All that did was make people look at him as if he had sprouted three heads and started barking like a dog.

So he had given up on trying to act like a normal kid with normal relationships and gone his own way. Occasionally he felt a twinge of loneliness but for the most part he was fine on his own. He could entertain himself well enough and watching the drama other people turned relationships into was entertaining in its own fashion. Rational thought told him that he'd be better off in the long run without any emotional attachments.

However, Near was sick. He wasn't thinking rationally but rather with sheer emotion. And when that hand that felt so good touching his forehead disappeared he acted on sheer emotion, too. With a lunge that his suffering body protested he wrapped his arms around the waist of who ever was trying to leave him and buried his head against their body heaving a sigh. The body stiffened and he almost let go in despair but finally it relaxed and sat back down. When a pair of arms wrapped hesitantly around his back Near smiled and fell into his first restful sleep of the day.


	3. in pursuit of contact

Disclaimer: I do not own, rent or in any way, shape or form hold the ownership to Death Note or it's characters. I do hold the intellectual rights to the story that follows.

A/N: I apologize for the horrible chapter titles and anything else that may require atonement. Such as any inconsistency between the last two chapters and this one. I had several ideas for how I wanted this to progress and agonized long enough that I decided to just bludgeon them all into one semi coherent ramble. Peruse at your own risk.

~***~**~*~**~***~

With an internal groan Near rolled over and tried to decide if he was conscious or not. It really was hard to tell since the room was so dark he could barely tell if his eyes were even open. He had to be. His throat hurt way too bad for this to be any kind of dream. Rolling back over Near snuggled up to the warmth he had been wrapped around and paused. These weren't pillows. In fact, there didn't seem to be many pillows at all. Obviously he was not in his own bed. Near had mountains and mountains of pillows on his bed in order to prop himself up or snuggle against or burrow under or even play with. Next to toys pillows were his greatest passion.

He brought a hand up and felt what his head was laying on. It was long and thin and, while not being squishy like a pillow, it was still soft and so deliciously warm. Behind his head it curved up sharply and now that he was paying attention there seemed to be some slight movement occurring. He listened curiously to the rhythmic sound that was going along with the movement for several long minutes before he realized what it was.

He blushed to think that not only was someone sleeping in the same bed as him but he had his head in that person's lap. Near was not really used to touching people. Everyone seemed to keep their distance, as if his oddities might rub off on them, so casual contact was almost unheard of for the slight boy. He shifted until he could prop himself up on his hands and stare at the face of the person next to him. Or at least he tried to stare at them. It was much too dark to see anything and so Near laid back down with a sigh of defeat.

Immediately he regretted the action as his throat seized up in blinding pain. His chest constricted with it and Near's body automatically tried to cough to loosen it up. The pitiful dry hack which was all he could produce, however, did nothing to ease his throat. Instead, it felt like someone was trying to cut ribbons from his raw throat with a shard of glass. His eyes teared up as he doubled over in pain. The more he coughed the more he needed to cough and the worse his throat felt. Even his stomach felt like it was on fire.

A warm pair of hands helped him sit upright and thrust a cup under his nose. Near shook his head violently not caring that in the pitch black the person couldn't see him. There was no way he could possibly manage to drink anything during this paroxysm of rending coughs. The cup pressed harder against his lips and he shook his head again with gritted teeth. The explosive coughs were ripping him apart and pretty soon he felt he was going to start coughing up blood.

"Hold your fucking breath and drink," a voice demanded irately. "It'll help but not if you keep it in the damn cup."

The gentle hand against Near's back belied the harsh words and his whole body shook as he desperately tried to fend off the cup at his lips. All he knew was if he tried to drink something right now he'd end up choking on it and probably die. Though, as his abused throat burned and he started retching, he couldn't decide if that would be a bad thing or not. The next second the decision was taken out of his hands and away from his lips as the cup disappeared.

"You won't drink it on your own," the voice muttered, "then I'll just have to make you."

Before he could figure out what was going on the person had shifted until they were facing each other with one of his hands behind Near's head and the other at Near's poor abused throat. Tipping the slighter boys head back the shadowy figure placed his lips over Near's and darted a tongue out to touch his lips. Near shuddered violently as he tried to suppress his coughs behind compressed lips but the other person gripped his chin painfully and forced his mouth open.

Warm tea flooded his mouth and with those lips still latched to his own he couldn't very well spit it back out. He tried breathing through his nose but the other person must have guessed what he was trying to do as he let go of Near's chin to pinch his nostrils shut. Near gave up as bright flashes of light started appearing in his vision due to lack of oxygen and he finally swallowed the mouthful with a resigned thought. A pity he had to die so young, really.

~***~**~*~**~***~

A gasp and Near went limp against Mello's body. Mello could feel the hot breath panting against his neck, the hands fisted in his shirt, the spasms still shaking the slighter boys body and felt a delicious tingle run up his spine. There was absolutely no reason for Near to reject drinking the tea from its cup now that the coughing had stopped and he could breath properly but Mello didn't care. He couldn't help himself. He wanted to feel those soft lips against his again. So wrapping one arm around the other boy's back to keep him upright Mello tipped Near's chin up again and offered him another mouthful of tea.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Near opened his mouth almost hungrily this time as he felt that warm tongue nudge against his lips. The tea felt delicious coating his throat with honey and settling his stomach with a hint of lemon but it wasn't the tea or even the pain of his sore throat that had him panting now. He wanted more of the feelings this person was stirring in him, more of the heat that was smoldering in his belly, more contact, more interaction. He just plain wanted more of anything he could get.

Hands loosening their grip on the shirt on front of him Near splayed his fingers out flat and inched his palms up the lean chest he was leaning against. His reward was the hitch he heard in the others breath at the friction engendered and he smiled to himself. Moving his hands up to the his partner's shoulders Near drew himself up a little taller within the circle of the other person's arms until their faces were level.

Just because he had never had occasion to experience much physical contact himself didn't mean he hadn't watched others. And he had most definitely wanted to try what he saw. With a sigh he moved closer until their chests touched and wound his arms around the others neck entwining his fingers in the shoulder length hair. Near's tongue darted out to flick along the other person's bottom lip and a ragged moan spilled into his mouth as the lips parted. Emboldened by his success Near pressed even closer settling his lips against the stranger's and set out to explore the mouth he had captured.


	4. in pursuit of answers

Disclaimer: I do not own, rent or in any way, shape or form hold the ownership to Death Note or it's characters. I do hold the intellectual rights to the story that follows.

A/N: Not much to say beyond that I have reached the limit of both my outline and prior planning. Anything that emerges after this has had little to no forethought involved and is running on sheer reaction to itself. I blame any and all disjointedness on this fact and not at all on my neglected and thus rusty writing skills.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Mello's arms tightened around the younger boy convulsively when he felt Near begin exploring his mouth. It felt so damn good he couldn't help himself. Running his hands up under the back of Near's shirt the blond flexed his fingers and started exploring back. The two boys didn't so much battle for dominance as they danced together with first one leading and then the other. When they finally broke apart panting and breathless it was Mello who fell to trailing kisses along the slighter boy's jaw until he buried his face in Near's neck with a groan.

"Near," he moaned sucking the sensitive skin into his mouth.

"Hah," Near panted. "Meh...Mello."

Immediately Near bit his lip and wished he'd kept his stupid mouth shut as Mello stiffened against him. Carefully pushing the younger boy away Mello reached an arm out to turn on the lamp on the bedside table. A warm yellow light flooded the room making Near blink rapidly to adjust his eyes but he had had time to get himself back under control. So, though he was still breathing heavily and had a faint flush on his cheeks, he could look at Mello with his usual impassive expression as one hand crept up to twirl a lock of his hair.

Mello, on the other hand, was quite obviously not in control of his seriously fragmented emotions. Looking everywhere but at the boy who was now lying back down on his bed with those disturbingly emotionless eyes he tried to pull himself together. Tugging his shirt straight and running a hand through his mussed hair didn't give Mello even a quarter of the time he needed to calm his raging emotions. Years would not be enough time to decipher exactly what was spinning sickly through his head at that moment.

"I, uh..." Mello trailed off and licked suddenly dry lips. He blushed thinking about who had just been licking them for him and cleared his throat gruffly. "How did you know it was me?"

It was obvious to Near that Mello wished he hadn't asked such a stupid inane question. The look in the blond's eyes said clear as day 'kick me now, please' but it was as good a place to start as any.

"There were several factors that led up to my deduction of who you were. Not the least of which was the overpowering smell of chocolate pervading both yourself and this room. The fact that I recognized your voice didn't hurt either," he added. "Though to tell you the truth I wasn't a hundred percent positive until you started swearing at me. That's a tone I hear much too often to forget."

Mello blanched at this reminder of how he'd always treated the other in public. Well, what was one suppose to do when they suddenly found themselves having improper thoughts about their bitterest rival? Obviously the answer was to continue acting like a jerk to him so no one would notice. There was no other option, not for Mello's pride at least. He gave a feeble nod and glanced at the lamp sitting on the table for inspiration on where to take the embarrassing situation from here. His gaze landed on the soup he'd made earlier and sealed in a container to keep warm. He busied himself opening it up and finding the spoon before thrusting it blindly back at Near.

"Here, you should eat this. You haven't had more than a few sips of tea in a...in a c-couple days," Mello stuttered remembering exactly where those sips of tea had almost led. Was everything an ambush just waiting to rub his nose in what he'd just done? He felt like a puppy being potty trained and for much the same reason. How could he have jumped a poor sick kid the second he'd managed to start breathing again? Because he was a disgusting horrible nasty person, that's why.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Near watched Mello practically collapse in on himself as he handed over the bowl of soup and whole heartedly regretted having spoken. In fact, so far every time he opened his mouth he had managed to make things worse. He was a smart boy. Why hadn't he realized that it was the anonymity of the encounter that had allowed Mello to finally express his feelings? Near had known about them for a while, it was obvious to him in the way Mello tried to mistreat him, but not having much experience with these matters Near had waited for Mello to make the first move. Obviously that had been the correct decision because even when Mello had initiated things all Near had managed to do was mess things up.

He sighed and stared at his soup. Relationships were insanely complicated things with no rules he could follow or boundaries he could watch for. Nothing in them made sense or allowed for a rational train of thought. It was like trying to build one of his towers but out of marbles. No matter how hard you tried everything went skittering all out of control the second you attempted to go beyond the superficial to create a second layer.

He looked at the soup and his stomach grumbled a little to let him know that it was still waiting for some form of sustenance. It was a simple meat broth with well boiled, almost mushy, noodles floating in it and it looked and smelled heavenly. Near placed a noodle in his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. He would think better after he got something in his stomach he was sure; everyone thought better with food, whether it was candy, chocolate or this delightfully delicate tasting soup.

Near swallowed the noodle and immediately his hand flew up as his throat let him know that it had not forgiven nor gotten over his earlier fit of coughing. The noodle felt like sandpaper sliding down his ravaged throat and Near rapidly blinked tears of pain out of his eyes. As he went to shove the bowl away from him he felt Mello take it from him and dip the spoon back in.

"Come on, try just a little bit of the broth. You really will feel better after you get something in your stomach," Mello coaxed softly.

Near placed his hands in his lap and opened his mouth. He was making it abundantly clear that Mello either had to feed him or make the bowl of soup go away. Mello hesitated for a second and then began spooning small amounts of broth into the younger boy's mouth. He couldn't help but grin as the image of a mother bird carefully feeding her fledglings crossed his mind. He was startled when Near's expressionless eyes softened and he smiled back. It was a tiny little smile but Mello found himself enthralled by what it seemed to say.

"Could I have some more tea, please?" Mello broke his stare with a blush and fumbled to put aside the bowl so he could refill the cup. Still not looking at the younger boy Mello handed him the cup and settled more comfortably on the side of the bed.

"We could probably manage to get you to your room if you'd like," Mello offered with a pathetic try at an indifferent shrug. "It's the middle of the night and no one would be around to notice."

"Hmm..." Near hummed thoughtfully through a mouthful of tea. He set the cup on the table and wriggled around. "I do miss my pillows." Mello's shoulders slumped. "But I find I much prefer the company here."

Mello jerked his head around to catch the mischievous glint twinkling in Near's eye before the younger boy disappeared under the comforters. A pale hand reached out to tug on Mello's pant leg, urging him to join the smaller boy under the covers. With a smile Mello turned off the lamp and slipped underneath to feel small arms wrap around his waist. Pressing his cheek against Near's tousled hair he wrapped his own arms around the slender boy's back and listened to breathing that was already settling into sleep.


	5. in pursuit of normalcy

Disclaimer: I do not own, rent or in any way, shape or form hold the ownership to Death Note or it's characters. I do hold the intellectual rights to the story that follows.

A/N: In which we meet other members of Wammy's house and Mello begins to seem more like himself. Previous chapters have painted our poor blond in a light that seems to jar with his intended character. Hopefully, this chapter will prove that this is not an ooc trait I decided to give him on a whim but merely a side affect of his confusion when interacting with Near.

~***~**~*~**~***~

"Mello, will you please come to my desk when class is over?" Mello nodded to show the teacher he had heard and glared at all the other students now staring at him curiously.

"Haha," Linda mocked softly from behind him while kicking his chair. "Mello's in trouble again. What'd you do this time? Glue all of Near's textbooks to his desk? Is that why he's not in class?"

Mello, for perhaps the millionth time that month, regretted sitting in the front row. At the beginning of the year it had seemed a good idea to sit close to the board if he wanted to excel and finally beat Near. The only problem was it left his back vulnerable to attack. Keeping your back to a wall and your eye on all exits was advice not only suited to undercover police work or a rowdy bar but really any room with more than two people of either unfriendly or neutral persuasion. Mello gritted his teeth and refrained from turning around. If he had to lay eyes on the beast he could not vouch for her physical well being and Mello never hit girls.

It wouldn't have been an issue if he could have convinced Matt to sit anywhere near him. Linda had a crush on the goggle-wearing video game addict. She wouldn't have dared do anything to Mello with her precious 'Matty-Poo' sitting right there, even though Matt ignored her as thoroughly as he did nearly everyone else. No, Matt refused to sit anywhere other than back row left hand corner in every class they had. The teacher knew he sat there and played games all day and Matt knew the teacher knew it but with that much distance between them they could both pretend the other didn't exist and get on with more important things; like teaching kids who actually felt like learning something other than the latest cheat code, or learning the important things in life like how many times it took to run through a certain level until you could pull a perfect score.

Mello gritted his teeth as a crumpled paper ball sailed over his shoulder and onto his desk. A faint giggle told him where it had come from. He knocked it to the floor without bothering to open it and sat staring balefully at the blackboard. To give credit where it was due Linda was honestly a really amazing artist. That being said she had, on more than one occasion, pushed Mello to his absolute breaking point with her stupid little drawings of him in dresses, or being run over by vehicles, trapped in burning buildings, or beset by wild dogs.

Reaching into his desk Mello cracked off a corner of his emergency chocolate bar and snuck it to his lips in the guise of a yawn. Linda knew better than to rat him out for eating during class. The last time she had tried it he had cut slits in all her expensive precious paint tubes so that they dried out and turned to dust. He never hit a girl but there was no way Mello could sit there day after day without retaliating against her somehow. So now she waged her little war against him without using the teacher for backup and Mello ignored her as if she had the plague.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Finally it was time to pack up and leave. Linda stuck her tongue out at Mello as she flounced past and he rolled his eyes at such a childish tactic. He reached down and picked up the discarded piece of paper as he waited for Matt to drift to the front of the room while playing his latest game. Yup, there he was impaled to a tree with giant sporks while someone poked him with stick. He snorted; that was a new one. Matt finally showed up and Mello led the way up to the teacher's desk curiously. He honestly couldn't think of anything he'd done recently that would land him in trouble. The teacher eyed Matt warily as the two boys reached his desk but decided to just ignore him as thoroughly as the game entranced boy was ignoring the world around him.

"Roger told me that Near is sick. I would have sent someone else, like Linda, to give him his assignments but Roger insisted that you could be trusted to handle it." The teacher's wry voice made it very clear he doubted Roger had been in his sane mind at the time. He glared at Mello meaningfully. "If you do anything to these papers between now and when Near hands them in other than hold them I will personally guarantee you a bread and water diet for the rest of the year. Do you hear me?"

Mello grunted in acknowledgment and taped his foot angrily. Everyone seemed completely convinced that he was out to get Near today. With his track record he couldn't exactly blame them and it wasn't like he could explain why things had suddenly changed between the two of them but still; all the suspicion was getting old fast. He heaved a long suffering sigh as the teacher finally handed over the papers with grave reluctance. Gathering the rest of his stuff he rushed from the room with Matt trailing behind still fixated on his game screen.

~***~**~*~**~***~

"What'd you do to piss off Roger that he's got you running errands for wonder boy?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mello answered Matt with an airy sigh. "I think L got to Roger again about the two of us learning from each other. All that bullshit about me learning control and him learning to remove that stick from his ass. I think Roger's hoping if he makes me help Near keep up with classes while he's sick we'll learn to be best buddies forever or some crap like that."

"Sounds like Roger," Matt replied with a snort as he negotiated a turn in the hallway without looking up from his game.

"Yeah," Mello said with a silent sigh of relief. "Means I won't have a lot of free time for the next few days. If Near's precious grades drop they'll probably all blame me for sabotage or something and hang me from L's tower by my toenails."

"Hmph, good luck with that."

"I probably won't be in my room often either," Mello added pressing his luck. Hopefully Matt wouldn't get too suspicious and call him on all these broad hints he was dropping. Matt may act oblivious to the world but he wasn't ranked three in the house for nothing. "Roger suggested L might look in on us a couple times. If he sees me working diligently with the goody little two shoes I might rise up a little in running for successor."

"I think I can manage to find something to occupy my time until you get tired of playing nice with the snow queen," Matt replied rolling his eyes.

"I know living without my vivid personality will be boring but I'm sure you'll persevere, Matt." Mello said with a grin. "Anyway, I should get these up to his royal pain in the ass before teach tries to convince Roger I ate them or something."

Mello turned to walk down a separate corridor with a wave and a grin to his best friend. He was actually quite proud at how well the day had gone. So far no one had seemed to think he was in any way suspicious or acting odd. Score one for Mello's elite acting skills. He didn't notice as he walked happily down the corridor that Matt had paused at the end and was watching him through narrowed eyes.


	6. in pursuit of justification

Disclaimer: I do not own, rent, or in any way shape or form hold the ownership to Death Note or it's characters. I do hold the intellectual rights to the story that follows.

A/N: I seem to have a fascination with starting a scene with Near waking up. I justify myself with the fact that since he's sick his body needs lots and lots of sleep but unless I wake him up you have no story. Therefore, I think we can all live with the overly large proportion of wake up scenes in this little experiment.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Near woke warm, comfortable, and surrounded by pillows. His pillows. He sat up abruptly when his questing hand found no other person in the bed with him. Had he somehow managed to get back to his room in the night without waking? Had the whole thing been just another of his fever-induced hallucinations?

Glancing around proved that where ever he was it wasn't his own room. His room was situated at the end of a hall and so had two external walls with windows. This room only had one window. And while all the furniture looked the same at Whammy's there were subtle differences in look and placement. He smiled when he saw the trash can overflowing with chocolate wrappers. No dream then, he was surely still in Mello's room.

A delicious smell drew his attention to the bedside table and the things placed there. A note was leaning against a plate of food and Near read it as he greedily started eating. Remembering his throat gave him a moment's pause but he happily continued when all he felt was a vague twinge. There was no heading or signature on the note but it was obvious who it was from.

_I have to go to class_

_but I'll be back as soon as I can._

_Try to eat._

_If you feel better later I left a towel_

_and a change of clothes in the bathroom for you._

_If you get bored look on the floor._

Carefully leaning over so that he didn't spill his plate Near glanced on the floor next to the bed. Setting the plate aside with a gasp he drew a box up onto the bed next to him. It was full of his toys. Mello must have raided his room before everyone else got up for class and brought back his pillows and toys. That must mean the clothes in the bathroom were his too. Near knew he'd look awful silly trying to wear something of Mello's, though the thought of wearing something that smelled like Mello all day left his stomach queasily happy.

Near felt so completely content with the world as he finished eating that he couldn't help but smile. After he was done eating he could take a bath, play with his toys, poke around Mello's room, or just go back to bed. Fate must have been smiling down on him when it decided to make him sick. There was no other explanation for how well the last couple days had turned out.

~***~**~*~**~***~

Mello practically snuck into his own room hoping he wasn't going to wake up a sleeping Near. Sleep really was the best and healthiest way to get over an illness and every time Near woke up he seemed to look and feel better. Eyeing the tangle of pillows and blankets on the bed it was impossible to tell if there was even someone in there much less if they were asleep. Tiptoeing none the less Mello made his way over to the desk and put all of his school stuff down.

Turning around Mello smiled at the sight that greeted him. Near was sitting on the floor hidden from the door on the other side of the bed. He was surrounded by the toys Mello had brought earlier in his customary position of one leg curled under him and the other bent up. The only difference was that Near's head had drifted down until it was resting on his arm on top of his bent knee and he was fast asleep still clutching something in the other hand. One of the very first things that had caused Mello to question his feelings for the other boy had been when he walked into the common room to see Near sleeping in almost the exact same position his arms wrapped around a toy robot and a faint smile on his lips.

Walking slowly closer to the other boy Mello noticed something else. Near had raided his closet and found an old worn out sweatshirt that he kept for when he was playing outdoors or doing something he knew he was going to end up getting dirty doing. The shirt was a touch too big for Mello and so it dwarfed Near's slight form. He looked adorable with the hem of the shirt pooled around him on the floor and the sleeves slipping past his fingers. The black cloth made Near's pale skin almost glow and put hints of gray and blue in the snowy white expanse of his hair.

The fact that Near wasn't wearing the new clothes Mello had gotten for him and the sight of the slighter boy's wild flyaway hair let Mello know that he hadn't made it into the bath quite yet. Well, sleep was definitely good a bath would really help Near feel like a new person. Mello clung to that altruistic thought as heat pooled in his stomach. There were no visions of drawing that ridiculously large shirt off and licking the smooth skin below running through his head. No thoughts of drawing off white pajama bottoms to kiss a creamy thigh. No ulterior motives what so ever.

With a blush Mello walked into the bathroom and shifted Near's things off the edge of the tub so he could start the water going. He grabbed a second towel and began stripping as he justified his actions. He could just as easily give Near a bath from outside the tub but placing someone still groggy from sleep into a tub alone was just asking for disaster to strike. Yes, really him joining the boy in the tub would be for Near's own safety. With a decisive nod Mello walked back into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around his hips and shifted Near so it would be easier to pick the boy up and carry him into the bathroom.

Settling Near on his lap Mello sat on the edge of the tub with one arm wrapped around the other boy's waist so he could test if the water was too hot. Fiddling with the nobs until he was happy he took a deep breath and finally turned back to the boy that fit so snugly against his chest. Licking his lips and feeling like a child about to open a Christmas present he drew the sweater slowly up Near's body with hands that ghosted softly along smooth skin. Leaning over so that his lips just barely didn't touch Near's spine he gradually traced up the boy's slowly exposed back with his breath. A shiver and the tug of the silver-haired boy's head to help get the sweater fully off let Mello know that Near had definitely woken up.

~***~**~*~**~***~

A/N: I apologize most profusely for the delay in getting you this chapter. Really when I started this I was sick and bedridden (which explains where poor Near's ailment came from) and my intention was a fluffy little piece of a couple chapters ending with some lemony goodness just to keep my spirits up. A friend set up this account for me and forced me to put up what I had finished at the moment as an incentive for me to both continue the story and finally get some of my work published online. Now as I continue writing the storyline seems to be getting away from me. I really have no idea where or how I plan to finish this up yet so I'm really just jumping from chapter to chapter hoping inspiration will strike eventually. So bear with me, please, and we'll see where the next few chapters lead us. If you have any input on how you think things are going and where they should progress from here let me know because I really am writing this blind. If you're just along for the ride then fasten your seat belts and enjoy.


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